Brake controller storing deceleration profiles and method using deceleration profiles stored in a brake controller

ABSTRACT

A brake controller in a vehicle determines braking profiles that may be exercised while operating the vehicle in autonomous or semi-autonomous conditions to decelerate the vehicle based on received commands or that may be exercised automatically in the event of a failure in a communication network of the vehicle or in other systems or components of the vehicle. The braking profiles decelerate the vehicle according to a deceleration profile. The execution of the deceleration profile may be initiated by a single command message received by the brake controller or it may be determined by the brake controller based on vehicle information. A safe state deceleration profile may be preselected by the controlling devices before the occurrence of a failure or an emergency situation, and then executed by the brake controller upon the occurrence of a failure or emergency.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The embodiments herein relate generally to vehicle braking. Morespecifically, particular embodiments relate to brake controllers invehicles storing one or more braking profiles that may be exercisedwhile operating in autonomous or semi-autonomous conditions todecelerate the vehicle based on received commands or that may beexercised automatically in the event of a failure in a communicationnetwork of the vehicle or in other systems or components of the vehicle.Although the embodiments will be described with reference to commercialhighway vehicles having an electronic brake controller in communicationwith one or more External Brake Request (XBR) controlling devices via aController Area Network (CAN) bus, it is to be appreciated that theclaimed invention is also amenable to other applications and canequivalently be extended to other embodiments and environments such asfor example automobiles.

BACKGROUND

Modern vehicles including for example construction vehicles,agricultural tractors, commercial highway vehicles, and many othersimilar work vehicles are now typically controlled using multipleindividual electronic controllers that are arranged at suitablelocations throughout the vehicle, and that are in operativecommunication with various sensor devices disposed at or locally near tothe various operations that are performed relative to the vehicle.

Example operations include a tire pressure monitoring operationperformed by a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) device using oneor more pressure sensors at the tires, anti-lock braking operationsperformed by an Antilock Braking System (ABS) device using Wheel SpeedSensors (WSS) disposed near the wheels, traction control performed by anAutomatic Traction Control (ATC) controller device, interfacing with thedriver of the vehicle performed by one or more Driver Interface Units(DIUs) using display and input devices disposed in the cab of thevehicle, braking operations performed by a brake Electronic Control Unit(ECU), automatic emergency braking operations performed by an AutomaticEmergency Braking System (AEBS), automatic cruise control operationsperformed by an Automatic Cruise Control (ACC) system, image recordingoperations performed by a camera of a CAMERA system, and radar imagingoperations performed by a RADAR system.

As mentioned above, the multiple individual electronic controllers thatare arranged at suitable locations throughout the vehicle may be inoperative communication using a communication and control network suchas for example a CAN bus. At times when the vehicle is operated in anautonomous or in a semi-autonomous mode, a brake controller may performdeceleration operations in response to XBR deceleration demands that arereceived by the brake controller via the CAN bus from one or more XBRcontrolling devices on the CAN bus. Typical XBR controlling deviceinclude, for example, the AEBS and ACC devices mentioned above, and alsomay include an Automated Vehicle Controller (AVC) on the CAN bus sendingXBR deceleration and other demands, to name a few.

The XBR deceleration demands for the brake controller to perform thedeceleration operations are typically communicated separately from eachof the XBR controlling devices to the brake controller via the CAN busas single XBR deceleration demand messages having particular commandeddeceleration levels embedded within the demand message. Currently, theXBR deceleration demand messages are sent to the brake controller in anopen loop manner. That is, each of the XBR deceleration demand messagesare sent separately onto the CAN bus as may be needed by the XBRcontrolling devices, but without the brake controller providing anyfeedback to the respective XBR controlling device confirming that thebrake controller received their particular XBR deceleration demand.Given the open loop nature of the brake command protocol of thesesystems, the XBR controlling device might continue to send XBRdeceleration demand messages without knowledge that earlier XBRdeceleration demands were acted upon by the brake controller. Inaddition, adapting the XBR controlling device to re-send a XBRdeceleration demand message that might not have been received by thebrake controller is not a feasible solution for providing closed loopbrake command feedback.

Also, in some cases, more than one XBR controlling device may send XBRdeceleration demand messages onto the bus at substantially the same timeand having different particular commanded deceleration levels. Sincebrake controllers currently available do not have an ability toarbitrate between the different particular commanded decelerationlevels, they can only act on the commanded deceleration level containedin the most recently received XBR deceleration demand message.Therefore, braking control is in effect rewarded to the XBR controllingdevice sending the most recent last XBR deceleration demand message,potentially to the disadvantage to other XBR controlling devices sendingother XBR deceleration demand messages.

In some cases such as for example during an emergency braking need theremay be a desire for an XBR controlling device such as for example anAEBS to send one or more tailored or specialized sets of XBRdeceleration demands having a series of different particular commandeddeceleration levels for controlling the brake controller to follow adesired emergency deceleration profile. However, given the open loopnature of the brake command protocol of these systems, there is no wayfor the XBR controlling device to confirm receipt by the brakecontroller of a first emergency deceleration command before sending thesecond emergency deceleration command, etc. The XBR controlling devicesimply sends out onto the CAN bus a series of XBR braking commands inaccordance with a desired braking profile generated by the XBRcontrolling device. Also given the open loop nature of the brake commandprotocol of these systems, a bus or other communication failure mayresult in the XBR deceleration demand message stream representative ofthe desired brake command profile being cut off and therefore possiblyresulting in the full deceleration demand set prevented from being fullydelivered to the brake controller.

In addition and owing to congestion of other messages on the CAN busincluding messages not necessarily relating the braking commands,loading on the communication network may occur to the point where XBRdeceleration demand messages may experience a significant communicationlag relative to their need for quick delivery. This may cause adisturbance in delivery fidelity of the XBR deceleration demandscontained in XBR deceleration demand messages, and the timing of theirrespective executions, relative to the deceleration profile desired bythe XBR controlling device.

In further addition, damage or failure may occur to one or more of thevarious sensor devices disposed at or locally near to the variousoperations that are performed by the vehicle. These sensors may beneeded however by the XBR controlling device to develop desired XBRdeceleration demands in accordance with feedback of various physicalproperties that would otherwise be provided by the failed or damagedsensor. For example, a wheel speed sensor failure or a failure of amodulator might frustrate the development by the XBR controlling deviceof a suitable XBR deceleration demand for delivery during the relevanttime window to the brake controller.

It is therefore desirable to provide a brake controller system storing aplurality of deceleration profiles in a memory local to the brakecontroller for selection and automatic execution of a storeddeceleration profile by the brake controller based on an XBRdeceleration profile selection signal received by the brake controllerfrom an XBR controlling device.

It is further desirable to provide a brake controller system storing aplurality of safe state deceleration profiles in a memory local to thebrake controller for selection and queueing or staging the selected safestate profile by the brake controller in response to the brakecontroller receiving a safe state deceleration profile selection signalfrom an XBR controlling device, and for automatically executing theselected and queued or staged safe state deceleration profile at anappropriate time in response to the brake controller receiving apredetermined trigger signal indicating a fault in the vehicle.

It is therefore also further desirable to provide a brake controllersystem storing a plurality of safe state deceleration profiles in amemory local to the brake controller for automatic selection andexecution of a stored safe state deceleration profile by the brakecontroller based on vehicle information relating to operationalparameters of the vehicle and in response to the brake controllerdetermining that there is a fault in the vehicle or in response toreceiving a predetermined trigger signal from an XBR controlling deviceindicating a fault. In an embodiment the information relating to theoperational parameters of the vehicle may include one or more of a levelof XBR controlled braking, a current speed of the vehicle, a distance tothe forward vehicle, ABS/WSS health, a forward velocity relative to avehicle forward to the vehicle of the brake controller 250, a currentlevel of ABS activity, ADAS health, ESP activity, or other values and/orparameters as may be desired or necessary.

SUMMARY OF THE EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments herein provide for a new and improved brake controllerstoring a plurality of deceleration profiles in a memory local to thebrake controller for selection and automatic execution of a storeddeceleration profile by the brake controller based on an XBRdeceleration profile selection signal received by the brake controllerfrom an XBR controlling device.

The embodiments herein further provide for a new and improved brakecontroller storing a plurality of safe state deceleration profiles in amemory local to the brake controller for selection and queueing orstaging of a selected safe state profile by the brake controller inresponse to the brake controller receiving a safe state decelerationprofile selection signal from an XBR controlling device, and forautomatically executing the selected and queued or staged safe statedeceleration profile at an appropriate time in response to the brakecontroller determining that there is a fault in the vehicle and/or bythe brake controller receiving a predetermined trigger signal indicatinga fault in the vehicle.

The embodiments herein still further provide for a new and improvedbrake controller storing a plurality of safe state deceleration profilesin a memory local to the brake controller for automatic selection andexecution of a stored safe state profile by the brake controller basedon vehicle information relating to operational parameters of the vehicleand in response to the brake controller receiving a predeterminedtrigger signal indicating a fault in the vehicle and/or responsive tothe brake controller determining a fault in the vehicle. In anembodiment the information relating to the operational parameters of thevehicle may include one or more of a level of XBR controlled braking, acurrent speed of the vehicle, a distance to the forward vehicle, ABS/WSShealth, a forward velocity relative to a vehicle forward to the vehicleof the brake controller, a current level of ABS activity, ADAS health,ESP activity, or other values and/or parameters as may be desired ornecessary.

The embodiments herein still further provide for a new and improvedbrake controller including brake control logic stored in a memory deviceand that is executable by a processor to, responsive to a braking systemfault logic network interface unit determining a fault condition in avehicle, determine, based on operational information of the vehicledetermined by vehicle information logic, a safe state braking controlprofile comprising safe state braking control profile datarepresentative of a safe state braking control profile value fordecelerating the associated vehicle. The brake control logic isexecutable by a processor further to communicate the safe state brakingcontrol profile data of the safe state braking control profile to anoutput circuit as a deceleration command data, wherein the outputcircuit generates a brake command signal corresponding to the safe statebraking control profile value on the output circuit for use by a brakingsystem of the vehicle to effectuate a braking operation in accordancewith the determined safe state braking control profile. The operationalinformation may include a current level of XBR controlled braking, acurrent speed of the vehicle, a distance to the forward vehicle, ABS/WSShealth, a forward velocity relative to a vehicle forward to the vehicleof the brake controller, a current level of ABS activity, ADAS health,and/or ESP activity as the operational information of the vehicle.

The embodiments herein still further provide for a new and improvedbrake controller including brake control logic stored in a memory deviceand that is executable by a processor to after communicating the safestate braking control profile data of the safe state braking controlprofile to the output circuit as the deceleration command data, based ona value of a second operational information of the vehicle determined bythe vehicle information logic, selectively communicate safe statebraking control profile termination data representative of adeceleration termination command value for terminating deceleration ofthe associated vehicle to the output circuit as deceleration commanddata, wherein the output circuit generates a null brake command signalcorresponding to the deceleration termination command value on theoutput circuit for use by the braking system of the associated vehicleto terminate the braking operation. In an example, embodiment, thesecond operational information of the vehicle for terminating thebraking operation may be one or more of: a reduction in speed of theassociated vehicle relative to a predetermined speed reductionthreshold; a speed of the associated vehicle relative to a predeterminedvehicle speed threshold; a driver override of the brake controller; adistance to an associated forward vehicle forward of the associatedvehicle relative to a predetermined forward distance threshold; and/or amagnitude of relative velocity between the associated vehicle and theassociated forward vehicle relative to a predetermined relative velocitythreshold.

Other embodiments, features and advantages of the example embodimentsfor automatically triggering deceleration profiles stored in a breakingcontroller will become apparent from the following description of theembodiments, taken together with the accompanying drawings, whichillustrate, by way of example, the principles of the exampleembodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, embodiments of the invention are illustrated,which, together with a general description of the invention given above,and the detailed description given below, serve to exemplify theembodiments of this invention.

FIG. 1 depicts a CAN network that includes multiple CAN nodes mutuallyconnected with a CAN bus.

FIG. 2 depicts a CAN network applied in an associated vehicle inaccordance with an example embodiment that includes a CAN bus connectingmultiple CAN devices controlling various operations of the associatedvehicle.

FIG. 3 is a functional schematic of a vehicle braking control systemincluding a brake controller in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method using deceleration profiles storedin a brake controller in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method using deceleration profiles storedin a brake controller in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method using deceleration profiles storedin a brake controller in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 7a is a graph showing a set of XBR deceleration curves that may beexecuted by a vehicle at a time of a fault.

FIGS. 7b-7d are graphs showing possible deceleration profiles may bedetermined by the brake controller based on a condition of the vehicleincluding a XBR deceleration curve currently being performed by thevehicle.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a deceleration graph showing representativedeceleration profiles in accordance with an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

In the following description reference is made to the accompanyingfigures which form a part thereof, and in which is shown, by way ofillustration, one or more example embodiments of the disclosed brakecontroller system storing deceleration profiles and methods usingdeceleration profiles stored in a brake controller. Variousmodifications of the example embodiments may be contemplated by on ofskill in the art.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are only for thepurpose of illustrating the example embodiments only and not forpurposes of limiting the same, FIG. 1 is a simplified depiction ofController Area Network (CAN) 100 that includes multiple CAN nodes 120,130, 140 in accordance with an example embodiment. The CAN nodes mayalso be referred to herein as Electronic Control Units (ECUs), CANdevices, CAN controllers, or the like. Each of the CAN nodes 120, 130,140 is connected with a CAN bus 150. In addition, each of the CAN nodesincludes a processor, a memory, device, and a transceiver. In theexample illustrated, the first CAN node 120 includes a first processor122 operatively coupled with a first memory device 124 which may storelogic 126 that is executable by the processor and which may also storedata for use by the processor while executing the logic to carry out oneor more particular function(s) and/or protocol(s) for effecting controlover a first operation 160 of an associated vehicle, device, apparatus,machine or the like in which the CAN network 100 is disposed. The logic126 may include operation control logic that is executable by the firstprocessor 122 to control the first operation 160 of the associatedvehicle based on a first operation command message received by the firstCAN device 120 from the CAN bus 150 via the first CAN transceiver 128.The logic 126 may further include operation status reporting logic thatis executable by the first processor 122 to determine values of one ormore operational signals of the first operation 160, generate firstoperation status CAN messages comprising first operation datarepresentative of the values of the one or more operational signals ofthe first operation 160, and transmit the first operation status CANmessages via the first CAN transceiver 128 to the CAN bus 150.

In the example embodiments described in the present disclosure, the CANnetwork 100 may be disposed in a large road vehicle such as a commercialtruck including a tractor towing one or more towed units as acombination vehicle, for example. The first CAN node 120 may be anAutomatic Cruise Control (ACC) control unit 121 for controlling an ACCoperation 160 in the commercial truck as the first operation, forexample. The first CAN node 120 in the example show in in FIG. 1includes a first transceiver device 128 disposed between the firstprocessor 122 and the CAN bus 150 for implementing a physical layerconnection between the first processor 122 and the CAN bus 150.

Also in the example illustrated, the second CAN node 130 includes asecond processor 132 operatively coupled with a second memory device 134which may store logic that is executable by the second processor and toalso store data for use by the second processor while executing thelogic to carry out one or more particular function(s) and/or protocol(s)for effecting control over a further operation 162 of the associatedvehicle such as a commercial truck, for example. The second CAN node 130may be an Automated Vehicle Controller (AVC) system 131 for controllingan automated vehicle operation of the commercial truck as the secondoperation 162 for example. The AVC system 131 may control variousfunctions of the vehicle during autonomous operation such as for exampleto control vehicle during participation in platooning operations withother similarly equipped vehicles on the roadway. The second CAN node130 in the example shown also includes a second transceiver device 138disposed between the second processor 132 and the CAN bus 150 forimplementing a physical layer connection between the second processor132 and the CAN bus 150.

Similar to the first CAN device 120, the logic 136 of the second CANdevice 130 may include operation control logic that is executable by thesecond processor 132 to control the second operation 162 of theassociated vehicle based on a second operation command message receivedby the second CAN device 130 from the CAN bus 150 via the second CANtransceiver 138. The logic 136 may further include operation statusreporting logic that is executable by the second processor 132 todetermine values of one or more operational signals of the secondoperation 162, generate second operation status CAN messages comprisingsecond operation data representative of the values of the one or moreoperational signals of the second operation 162, and transmit the secondoperation status CAN messages via the second CAN transceiver 138 to theCAN bus 150.

Yet further in the example illustrated, the third CAN node 140 includesa third processor 142 operatively coupled with a third memory device 144which may store logic that is executable by the third processor and datafor use by the third processor while executing the logic to carry outone or more particular function(s) and/or protocol(s) for effectingcontrol over yet a further operation 164 of the associated vehicle suchas a commercial truck, for example. The third CAN node 140 may be anAEBS control unit 141 for controlling an AEBS operation of the vehicleas the third operation for example. The third CAN node 140 in theexample show also includes a third transceiver device 148 disposedbetween the third processor 142 and the CAN bus 150 for implementing aphysical layer connection between the third processor 142 and the CANbus 150.

Similar to the first and second CAN devices 120, 130, the logic 146 ofthe third CAN device 140 may include operation control logic that isexecutable by the third processor 142 to control the third operation 164of the associated vehicle based on a third operation command messagereceived by the third CAN device 140 from the CAN bus 150 via the thirdCAN transceiver 148. The logic 146 may further include operation statusreporting logic that is executable by the third processor 142 todetermine values of one or more operational signals of the thirdoperation 164, generate third operation status CAN messages comprisingthird operation data representative of the values of the one or moreoperational signals of the third operation 164, and transmit the thirdoperation status CAN messages via the third CAN transceiver 148 to theCAN bus 150.

It is to be appreciated that the processors 122, 132, 142 may be anyform of controller, micro-controller or the like, and that the CAN nodes120, 130, 140 are typically connected with at least one other device(not shown) such as, for example, one or more sensor(s), one or moreactuator(s), or some other control device. In addition and in accordancewith the descriptions herein, the term “computer-readable medium” as maybe used herein refers to any non-transitory media that stores and/orotherwise participates in providing instructions to the processors 122,132, 142 for execution. Such a non-transitory medium may take manyforms, including but not limited to volatile and non-volatile media.Non-volatile media includes, for example, memory devices, optical ormagnetic disks, or the like. Volatile media includes dynamic memory forexample and does not include transitory signals, carrier waves, or thelike. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, afloppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any othermagnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards,papertape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM,PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, orany other tangible non-transitory medium from which a computer can read.

In addition and further in accordance with the descriptions herein, theterm “logic”, as used herein with respect to the Figures and claims,includes hardware, firmware, software in execution on a machine, and/orcombinations of each to perform a function(s) or an action(s), and/or tocause a function or action from another logic, method, and/or system.Logic may include a software controlled microprocessor, a discrete logic(e.g., ASIC), an analog circuit, a digital circuit, a programmed logicdevice, a memory device containing instructions, and so on. Logic mayinclude one or more gates, combinations of gates, or other circuitcomponents.

The CAN bus 150 of the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 carriesanalog differential signals and includes a CAN high (CANH) bus line 152and a CAN low (CANL) bus line 154. The CAN bus 150 is known in the art.

FIG. 2 depicts a CAN network 200 applied in an associated vehicle suchas applied for example in a commercial truck including a tractor towingone or more towed units as a combination vehicle, for example. The CANnetwork 200 as applied in accordance with an example embodiment includesa CAN bus 150 connecting multiple sets of CAN devices 220, 222. Each ofthe sets of multiple CAN devices 220, 222 are formed similar to thenodes 120, 130, 140 (FIG. 1) and accordingly each includes a networkinterface unit or device such as a transceiver for example for couplingthe CAN device with the CAN bus 150, a processor, a memory storing logicthat is executable by the processor for controlling various operationsof the associated vehicle, and one or more input and output circuits forphysically interfacing with aspects of the various operations of theassociated vehicle such as for example wheel speed sensor devices, etc.The CAN bus 150 has first and second plugs 212, 214 for connection tofurther extensions of the CAN bus 150 with one or more CAN busextensions as may be necessary or desired.

The multiple sets of CAN devices 220, 222 may include in the illustratedexample a TPMS control unit 230 performing tire pressure monitoring ofthe tires of the commercial truck using one or more pressure sensors atthe tires. The multiple sets of CAN devices 220, 222 may further includean ABS control unit 232 performing anti-lock braking operations usingWheel Speed Sensors (WSS) disposed near the wheels, and an ATC unit 234performing automatic traction control. In the example illustrated, theABS unit 232 may include for example a CAN node similar to those shownin FIG. 1 together with one or more sensor and/or actuator devicesdisposed in or at the wheels of the combination vehicle. The multiplesets of CAN devices 220, 222 may further include a DIU control unit 236used to receive signals from an operator via the CAN network 200 forcontrolling the associated vehicle as may be necessary or desired. TheDIU unit 236 is provided in the operator's cab of the associated vehicleand includes logic that is executable by a processor for providing avisual monitor that may be used by the operator while operating the workvehicle from within its cab. The multiple sets of CAN devices 220, 222may still further include a CAMERA control unit 242 for performing imagerecording operations, and a RADAR control unit 244 for performing radarimaging operations such as for example to detect other vehicles near tothe commercial vehicle.

An ACC control unit 121 of the type described above is provided forperforming automatic cruise control operations. In addition, an AVCcontroller 131 is provided for controlling various functions of thevehicle during autonomous operation of the vehicle such as for exampleduring platooning. In further addition, an AEBS control unit 141 of thetype described above is provided in the first set 220 of CAN devices forperforming automatic emergency braking operations. In the exampleillustrated, the ACC control unit 121 may include for example the firstCAN node 120 shown in FIG. 1 together with one or more sensor and/oractuator devices disposed in or at the first operation 160. Also in theexample illustrated, the AVC control unit 131 may include for examplethe second CAN node 130 shown in FIG. 1 together with one or more sensorand/or actuator devices disposed in or at the second operation 162.Still also in the example illustrated, the AEBS control unit 141 mayinclude for example the third CAN node 140 shown in FIG. 1 together withone or more sensor and/or actuator devices disposed in or at the thirdoperation 164.

The multiple sets of CAN devices 220, 222 may further include amechatronic brake controller 250 provided for performing brakingoperations in accordance with example embodiments. The brake controller250 is formed similar to the nodes 120, 130, 140 (FIG. 1) andaccordingly similarly includes a network interface unit or device suchas a transceiver for example for coupling the brake controller 250 withthe CAN bus 150, a processor, a memory storing logic that is executableby the processor for controlling various operations of the associatedvehicle such as for example the braking functions, and one or more inputand output circuits for physically interfacing with aspects of thevarious operations of the associated vehicle such as for example wheelspeed sensor devices, etc.

In an example embodiment, the brake controller 250 stores a plurality ofdeceleration profiles in a memory local to the brake controller forselection and automatic execution of a stored deceleration profile bythe brake controller based on an XBR deceleration profile selectionsignal received by the brake controller from an XBR controlling devicesuch as for example XBR deceleration profile selection signals receivedfrom the AVC 131 during autonomous and/or semi-autonomous vehicleoperations.

In a further example embodiment, the brake controller 250 stores aplurality of safe state deceleration profiles in a memory local to thebrake controller for selection and queueing or staging of a selectedsafe state profile by the brake controller in response to the brakecontroller receiving a safe state deceleration profile selection signalfrom an XBR controlling device such as the AVC 131, and forautomatically executing the selected and queued or staged safe statedeceleration profile at an appropriate time during autonomous and/orsemi-autonomous vehicle operations in response to the brake controllerreceiving a predetermined trigger signal indicating a fault in thevehicle and/or responsive to the brake controller determining a fault inthe vehicle. In an embodiment, braking system fault logic stored in amemory device of the brake controller is executable by the processor ofthe brake controller to determine the fault in the associated vehicle.The fault information may be derived from the CAN bus as well in furtherembodiments.

In accordance with an embodiment, a fault in the associated vehicle maybe determined by the brake controller based on XBR message faults suchas for example, from CAN bus messages missing for a period of time,invalid value(s) contained in the messages, checksums indicating that amessage was not transmitted correctly, out the like. Further, a fault inthe associated vehicle may be determined by the brake controller basedon issues with or in other controllers in the vehicle network such asfor example, a broadcast of a DM1 or other fault message on the CAN bus.Still further, a fault in the associated vehicle may be determined bythe brake controller based on an internal fault of the brake controllersuch as for example, an open or shorted wire or any other brakecontroller mal or other condition.

In yet a further example embodiment, the brake controller 250 stores aplurality of safe state deceleration profiles in a memory local to thebrake controller for automatic selection and execution of a stored safestate profile by the brake controller during autonomous and/orsemi-autonomous vehicle operations based on vehicle information relatingto operational parameters of the vehicle and in response to the brakecontroller receiving a predetermined trigger signal indicating a faultin the vehicle and/or responsive to the brake controller determining afault in the vehicle. In an embodiment, braking system fault logicstored in a memory device of the brake controller is executable by theprocessor of the brake controller to determine the fault in theassociated vehicle. The fault information may be derived from the CANbus as well in further embodiments.

In an embodiment the information relating to the operational parametersof the vehicle may include one or more of a level of XBR controlledbraking, a current speed of the vehicle, a distance to the forwardvehicle, ABS/WSS health, a forward velocity relative to a vehicleforward to the vehicle of the brake controller 250, a current level ofABS activity, ADAS health, ESP activity, or other values and/orparameters as may be desired or necessary.

FIG. 3 is a functional schematic of a vehicle braking control system 300including a brake controller 250 in accordance with an exampleembodiment. Although the example embodiments are described herein withreference to commercial highway vehicles having an electronic brakecontroller 250 in communication with one or more XBR controlling devicessuch as an ACC control unit 121, and AVC control unit 131, and an AEBScontrol unit 141 via a CAN bus 150 for automatically executing storeddeceleration profiles during autonomous and/or semi-autonomous vehicleoperations, it is to be appreciated that the example embodiments arealso amenable to other applications and can equivalently be extended toother embodiments and environments such as for example automobiles orany form of automated or autonomous vehicle wherein XBR controllingdevices may command and control the vehicle during the autonomous and/orsemi-autonomous operations.

Other and/or addition XBR controlling devices may be used in the vehiclebraking control system 300 of the example embodiment as may be necessaryor desired. For example, any of the control units shown and describedabove in connection with the system shown in FIG. 2, and any other typeof control unit, could serve to operate as an XBR controlling device inaccordance with the embodiments by delivering XBR deceleration demandmessages to the brake controller 250 via the CAN bus 150.

The example embodiments relate generally to braking methods andapparatus and, more specifically, to a brake controller 250 having amemory 340 storing one or more autonomous mode deceleration profiles330, 332, 334 that may be automatically exercised while operating anassociated vehicle in autonomous or in semi-autonomous conditions suchas for example during platooning operations to decelerate the vehicleaccording to a predetermined sequence of deceleration signals orcommands set by the profile stored in the memory 340. The execution ofthe predetermined sequence of deceleration signals or commands set bythe profile are initiated by a single command message received by thebrake controller 250 from one or more of the XBR selecting devices suchas for example the ACC control unit 121, the AVC control unit 131,and/or the AEBS control unit 141 selecting one of autonomous modedeceleration profiles 330, 332, 334 via the CAN bus 150. The memory 340of the brake controller 250 also stores one or more safe statedeceleration profiles 350, 352, 354 that may similarly be preselected byone or more of the XBR selecting devices and then automaticallytriggered for execution in the event of a failure in a communicationnetwork of the vehicle or in the event of a failure determined in othersystems or components of the vehicle rather than being executed based oncommands received from the XBR controlling devices. The one or more safestate deceleration profiles 350, 352, 354 may also be both automaticallyselected and automatically exercised based on vehicle information in theevent of a failure in a communication network of the vehicle or in theevent of a failure determined in other systems or components of thevehicle rather than based on commands received from the XBR controllingdevices.

Direct Braking Control—XBR Deceleration Demand Messages

Each of the XBR controlling devices 121, 131, 141 may directly controlbraking operations of the vehicle during the autonomous orsemi-autonomous conditions to decelerate the vehicle by communicatingXBR deceleration demand messages 302 to the brake controller 250 via theCAN bus 150 for processing of XBR deceleration demand data contained inthe XBR deceleration demand messages 302 by logic stored in a memory ofthe controller 250 and executable by a processor of the controller 250,and for delivery by arbitration and application logic 360 executing inthe brake controller 250 to a braking system mechatronic control unitMCU 320 of the associated vehicle. The braking system MCU 320 of theassociated vehicle may then apply the braking signals 252 received fromthe brake controller 250 using electromechanical and/or hydraulicmechanisms and/or devices to brake mechanisms 322, 324, 326, 328 of theassociated vehicle for performing the deceleration in accordance withthe received XBR deceleration demand messages 302.

Direct Manual Braking Control—Foot Pedal

As an example of the direct control of the braking operations of thevehicle during the autonomous or semi-autonomous conditions, the ACC XBRcontrolling device 121 may develop and send XBR deceleration demandmessages 302 to the brake controller 250 via the CAN bus 150 forcontrolling an automatic cruise control operation 160 (FIG. 1) of thevehicle for example.

The braking system MCU 320 of the associated vehicle is also responsiveduring non-autonomous and non-semi-autonomous conditions to a manualdeceleration signal 254 received from a suitable switch in an operatorfeedback sensor such as a seat switch (not shown) that generates anoccupant present signal when the operator is physically correctly seatedbehind the steering wheel, or a brake pedal 256 of the associatedvehicle for performing the deceleration in accordance with manualcommands received from the operation using the brake pedal. The manualdeceleration signal 254 may also be used by the arbitration andapplication logic 360 executing in the brake controller 250 to overrideother XBR demand signals 304, 306 as may be necessary or desired. Thearbitration and application logic 360 executing in the brake controller250 may refer to priority assignments and to other factors and variablesrelative to the operation of the vehicle for situations when XBRcontrolling devices request different braking profiles in competitionwith the brake pedal. The brake controller 250 may then deliver theselected one of the plurality braking profiles 330-334 and 350-354 orthe manual deceleration signal 254 to the braking system MCU 320 of theassociated vehicle. The braking system MCU 320 of the associated vehiclemay then apply the braking signals received from the brake controller250 to brake mechanisms 322, 324, 326, 328 of the associated vehicle.

Automatic Braking Control—Activation of Stored Deceleration Profile byDeceleration Profile Selection Signal

In an embodiment, the brake controller system 300 stores autonomous modedeceleration profiles 330, 332, 334 that may be exercised by brakecontroller 250 upon the one or more XBR controlling devices 130, 160,164 sending an autonomous mode XBR deceleration profile selectionmessage 304 via the CAN bus 150. The autonomous mode XBR decelerationprofile selection messages 304 represent an XBR deceleration profileselection signal and include autonomous mode deceleration profileselection data representative of a deceleration profile desired by therequesting XBR controlling device, wherein the autonomous modedeceleration profile selection data is used by the decode logic 310 ofthe brake controller 250 to select a particular stored autonomous modedeceleration profile 330, 332, or 334 for activation by the brakecontroller to automatically decelerate the vehicle based on theactivated selected profile 330, 332, or 334 without the need for anyfurther intervention by the requesting XBR controlling device to controlthe deceleration of the associated vehicle. In that way, a singleautonomous mode deceleration profile selection message sent by any ofthe XBR controlling devices in the vehicle braking control system 300results in a fully controlled deceleration of the associated vehiclefollowing a tailored deceleration versus time braking protocol asspecified by the selected autonomous mode deceleration profile 330, 332,or 334. This eliminates the need for closed loop feedback of brakingcommands, and also helps to reduce traffic on the CAN bus.

In the example embodiment, each of the autonomous mode decelerationprofiles specifies a set of deceleration data paired with execution timedata comprising a first plurality of deceleration data representative ofa first plurality of deceleration values paired with a first pluralityof execution time increment data representative of a first plurality ofexecution time increments to be followed by the brake controller 250 forgenerating brake signals 252 to be sent to a braking system MechatronicControl Unit MCU 320 of the associated vehicle. In an embodiment, abrake controller is provided for controlling a braking operation of abraking system of an associated vehicle in response to External BrakeRequest (XBR) deceleration demands received from an associated XBRcontrolling device. The brake controller includes a network interfaceunit in operative communication with the associated XBR controllingdevice via an associated control network of the associated vehicle, thenetwork interface unit selectively receiving a first XBR decelerationprofile selection message from the associated XBR controlling device viathe associated control network; an output circuit operatively coupledwith a braking system of the associated vehicle, the output circuitbeing operative to receive deceleration command data representative of adeceleration command value and to generate a brake command signalcorresponding to the deceleration command value on an output of theoutput circuit for use by the braking system of the associated vehicleto effectuate the braking operation at the deceleration command value;and a brake control unit operatively coupled with the network interfaceunit and the output circuit. In one form, the brake control unitcomprises a processor, a memory device storing a first braking controlprofile comprising first deceleration profile data representative of afirst deceleration profile value, and brake control logic stored in thememory device. The brake control logic is executable by the processorto, responsive to the network interface unit receiving the first XBRdeceleration profile selection message: decode the first XBRdeceleration profile selection message to determine a first brakingprofile selection signal selecting the first braking control profile bythe first XBR deceleration profile selection message, and communicatethe first deceleration profile data to the output circuit as thedeceleration command data, wherein the output circuit generates thebrake command signal corresponding to the first deceleration profilevalue for use by the braking system of the associated vehicle toeffectuate the braking operation in accordance with the first brakingcontrol profile.

In an embodiment, the first braking control profile stored in the memorydevice of the brake controller comprises ramp-in data representative ofa maximum rate of deceleration change for initiating the first brakingcontrol profile by the brake control logic relative to a braking controlcurrently being executed by the brake control logic, wherein the brakecontrol logic communicates the first deceleration data to the outputcircuit as the deceleration command data by adjusting the brakingcontrol currently being executed in increments of the ramp-in data,communicating the adjusted braking control currently being executed tothe output circuit as the deceleration command data until the adjustedbraking control currently being executed matches the first decelerationdata, then communicating the second deceleration data to the outputcircuit as the deceleration command data.

In an embodiment, the first braking control profile stored in the memorydevice of the brake control unit comprises a first set of decelerationdata paired with execution time data comprising a first plurality ofdeceleration data representative of a first plurality of decelerationvalues paired with a first plurality of execution time increment datarepresentative of a first plurality of execution time increments. Thebrake control logic stored in the memory device of the brake controlunit is executable by the processor to, responsive to the networkinterface unit receiving the first XBR deceleration profile selectionmessage communicate the first deceleration data to the output circuit asthe deceleration command data by communicating the first plurality ofdeceleration data at the first plurality of execution time increments,wherein the output circuit generates the brake command signalcorresponding to the first plurality of deceleration values at the firstplurality of execution time increments on the output circuit for use bythe braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuate the brakingoperation in accordance with the first braking control profile.

In an embodiment, the memory device of the brake control unit stores asecond braking control profile comprising a second set of decelerationdata paired with execution time data comprising a second plurality ofdeceleration data representative of a second plurality of decelerationvalues paired with a second plurality of execution time increment datarepresentative of a second plurality of execution time increments. Thebrake control logic is executable by the processor to, responsive to thenetwork interface unit receiving a second XBR deceleration profileselection message decode the second XBR deceleration profile selectionmessage to determine a second braking profile selection signal selectingthe second braking control profile by the second deceleration triggermessage; and communicate the second deceleration data to the outputcircuit as the deceleration command data by communicating the secondplurality of deceleration data at the second plurality of execution timeincrements, wherein the output circuit generates the brake commandsignal corresponding to the second plurality of deceleration values atthe second plurality of execution time increments on the output circuitfor use by the braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuatethe braking operation in accordance with the second braking controlprofile.

In an embodiment, the first braking control profile stored in the memorydevice comprises a first priority value, the second braking controlprofile stored in the memory device comprises a second priority value,the memory device of the brake control unit stores arbitration logicexecutable by the processor to determine a rank between the first andsecond priority values, and the brake control logic is executable by theprocessor to: responsive to the arbitration logic determining the firstpriority value being ranked above the second priority value, communicatethe first deceleration data to the output circuit as the decelerationcommand data, or responsive to the arbitration logic determining thesecond priority value being ranked above the first priority value,communicate the second deceleration data to the output circuit as thedeceleration command data.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method 400 using deceleration profilesstored in a brake controller in accordance with an example embodiments.With reference now to that Figure, a processor of the brake controller250 executes logic to determine whether and autonomous mode XBRdeceleration profile selection message 304 is received. If no suchmessage is received, the method waits until such message is receivedbefore proceeding.

If an autonomous mode XBR deceleration profile selection message 304 isreceived in step 410, the autonomous mode XBR deceleration profileselection data is decoded in step 420 by the decode logic 310 executedby the processor.

Next, at step 430, a brake profile is selected from among the autonomousmode deceleration profiles 330, 332, 334 in accordance with the decodedautonomous mode XBR deceleration profile selection data.

At step 440, the selected brake profile is applied to the braking systemMCU 320 of the associated vehicle.

Safe State Braking Profile Selected/Staged/Queued by XBR ControllingDevices Before Fault Detection/Determination for Deferred Activation ofAutonomous Mode Deceleration Profile

In a further example embodiment, one or more of the safe statedeceleration profiles 350, 352, 354 are preselected by one or more ofthe XBR controlling devices based on a safe state profile selectioncommand received from the one or more of the XBR controlling devicesbefore the occurrence of a failure or an emergency situation, and thenexecuted by the brake controller 250 upon the occurrence of a failure,emergency, fault in the vehicle, or the like. In an embodiment, brakingsystem fault logic stored in a memory device of the brake controller isexecutable by the processor of the brake controller to determine thefault in the associated vehicle. The fault information may be derivedfrom the CAN bus as well in further embodiments.

In the example embodiment, the safe state deceleration profiles 350,352, 354 are preselected before the occurrence of the failure or theemergency situation by one or more of the XBR controlling devices, andqueued or otherwise staged in the memory ready for later quick executionduring the autonomous and/or semi-autonomous vehicle operations and whenand if the failure, fault, and/or the emergency situation actuallyoccurs.

The memory 340 of the brake controller system 300 stores safe statedeceleration profiles 350, 352, 354 that may be selected and then stagedor queued to be automatically exercised in the event of an emergency ora failure in a communication network of the vehicle or in other systemsor components of the vehicle. A safe state deceleration profile 350,352, 354 is presented or otherwise queued or staged for execution basedon safe state profile selection data contained in safe state profileselection messages 306 received by the brake controller 250 before theoccurrence of a failure or an emergency situation. The queueddeceleration profile is then executed by the brake controller 250 basedon a received signal representative of a failure or an emergencysituation, rather than based on commands received from the XBRcontrolling devices as described above in connection with activation ofautonomous mode deceleration profile by trigger message selection. Anindication of a failure or an emergency situation may be delivered tothe brake controller 250 in data contained in a failure message 305 fromthe CAN bus 150, for example. In the example embodiment, the safe statedeceleration profiles 350, 352, 354 are preselected before theoccurrence of the failure or the emergency situation by one or more ofthe XBR controlling devices, and are queued or otherwise staged in thememory ready for later quick execution when and if the failure or theemergency situation actually occurs.

The autonomous mode safe state profile selection message 306 includesautonomous mode safe state profile selection data representative of adeceleration profile desired by the requesting XBR controlling device,wherein the autonomous mode safe state profile selection data is used bythe decode logic 310 of the brake controller 250 to select a particularstored autonomous mode safe state profile selection profile foractivation by the brake controller to automatically decelerate thevehicle based on the activated selected profile 350, 352, 354 afterreceiving notification of the failure data contained in a failuremessage 305 from the CAN bus 150, without the need for any furtherintervention by the requesting XBR controlling device to control thedeceleration of the associated vehicle. In that way, a single safe statedeceleration message sent by any of the XBR controlling devices in thevehicle braking control system 300 results in a fully controlleddeceleration of the associated vehicle following a tailored brakingprotocol as specified by the selected autonomous mode safe state profile350, 352, or 354. This eliminates the need for closed loop feedback ofbraking commands, and also helps to reduce traffic on the CAN bus. Inaddition, there may be some scenarios where XBR braking may need to becontinued if the brake ECU loses communication with the source ECUs orsome Brake ECU Faults. Examples of these conditions would include, forexample, a communication bus disconnection and/or corruption, forwardcollision in which the radar 244 (FIG. 1) is destroyed, Safe Statereaction for autonomous driving, ESP Sensor Fault (SAS, YAS), or WSS orModulator Failure.

Overall, exercise or activation of the one or more safe statedeceleration profiles 350, 352, 354 stored in the memory 340 of thebrake controller 250 is deferred until such time as a failure or otheremergency situation occurs such as for example after receiving a failuremessage 305 indicating a failure in a communication network of thevehicle or in other systems or components of the vehicle rather thanbeing immediately exercised activated based on commands received fromthe XBR controlling devices. In a further embodiment, braking systemfault logic stored in a memory device of the brake controller isexecutable by the processor of the brake controller to determine thefault in the associated vehicle. The fault information may be derivedfrom both the CAN bus as well in further embodiments as from the brakingsystem fault logic. The deferred exercise or activation of the one ormore safe state deceleration profiles 350, 352, 354 stored in the memory340 of the brake controller 250 is based on a safe state profileselection command received before the occurrence of a failure or anemergency situation.

In the example embodiment, a safe state deceleration profile 350, 352,354 is preselected before the occurrence of the failure or the emergencysituation by one or more of the XBR controlling devices, and queued orotherwise staged in the memory ready for later quick execution when andif the failure or the emergency situation actually occurs.

In the example embodiment, each of the safe state deceleration profilesspecifies a set of deceleration data paired with execution time datacomprising a first plurality of deceleration data representative of afirst plurality of deceleration values paired with a first plurality ofexecution time increment data representative of a first plurality ofexecution time increments to be followed by the brake controller 250 forgenerating brake signals 252 to be sent to a braking system MechatronicControl Unit MCU 320 of the associated vehicle.

In an embodiment, a brake controller is provided for controlling abraking operation of a braking system of an associated vehicle inresponse to External Brake Request (XBR) deceleration demands receivedfrom an associated XBR controlling device. The brake controller includesa network interface unit in operative communication with the associatedXBR controlling device via an associated control network of theassociated vehicle, the network interface unit selectively receiving afirst safe state deceleration profile selection message from theassociated XBR controlling device via the associated control network.The brake controller further includes an output circuit operativelycoupled with a braking system of the associated vehicle, the outputcircuit being operative to receive deceleration command datarepresentative of a deceleration command value and to generate a brakecommand signal corresponding to the deceleration command value on anoutput of the output circuit for use by the braking system of theassociated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation at thedeceleration command value. The brake controller further includes abrake control unit operatively coupled with the network interface unitand the output circuit. The brake control unit of an example embodimentincludes a memory device, a processor, and braking system fault andbrake control logic. The memory device stores a first safe state brakingcontrol profile comprising first safe state braking control profile datarepresentative of a first safe state braking control profile value. Thebraking system fault logic stored in the memory device is executable bythe processor to determine a fault in the associated vehicle. The brakecontrol logic stored in the memory device is executable by the processorto, responsive to the network interface unit receiving the first safestate deceleration profile selection message: decode the first safestate deceleration profile selection message to determine a first safestate braking profile selection signal selecting the first safe statebraking control profile by the first safe state deceleration profileselection message; and queue in the memory device the first safe statebraking control profile selected by the first safe state braking profileselection signal. In the example embodiment, the brake control logic isoperable to: responsive to the braking system fault logic determiningthe fault in the associated vehicle, communicate the first decelerationdata of the first safe state braking control profile queued in thememory device to the output circuit as the deceleration command data,wherein the output circuit generates the brake command signalcorresponding to the first safe state braking control profile value onthe output circuit for use by the braking system of the associatedvehicle to effectuate the braking operation in accordance with the firstsafe state braking control profile.

In an example embodiment, the first braking control profile stored inthe memory device comprises ramp-in data representative of a maximumrate of deceleration change for initiating the first braking controlprofile by the brake control logic relative to a braking controlcurrently being executed by the brake control logic. In the exampleembodiment, the brake control logic communicates the first decelerationdata to the output circuit as the deceleration command data by adjustingthe braking control currently being executed in increments of theramp-in data, communicating the adjusted braking control currently beingexecuted to the output circuit as the deceleration command data untilthe adjusted braking control currently being executed matches the firstdeceleration data, then communicating the second deceleration data tothe output circuit as the deceleration command data.

In an example embodiment, the first safe state braking control profilestored in the memory device of the brake control unit comprises a firstset of deceleration data paired with execution time data comprising: afirst plurality of deceleration data representative of a first pluralityof deceleration values paired with a first plurality of execution timeincrement data representative of a first plurality of execution timeincrements. In the example embodiment, the brake control logic stored inthe memory device of the brake control unit is operable to: responsiveto the braking system fault logic determining the fault in theassociated vehicle, communicate the first deceleration data of the firstsafe state braking control profile queued in the memory device to theoutput circuit as the deceleration command data by communicating thefirst plurality of deceleration data at the first plurality of executiontime increments, wherein the output circuit generates the brake commandsignal corresponding to the first plurality of deceleration values atthe first plurality of execution time increments on the output circuitfor use by the braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuatethe braking operation in accordance with the first braking controlprofile.

In an example embodiment, the memory device of the brake control unitstores a second braking control profile comprising a second set ofdeceleration data paired with execution time data comprising: a secondplurality of deceleration data representative of a second plurality ofdeceleration values paired with a second plurality of execution timeincrement data representative of a second plurality of execution timeincrements. In the example embodiment, the brake control logic isexecutable by the processor to, responsive to the network interface unitreceiving a second safe state deceleration profile selection message:decode the second safe state deceleration profile selection message todetermine a second braking profile selection signal selecting the secondbraking control profile by the second deceleration trigger message; andcommunicate the second deceleration data to the output circuit as thedeceleration command data by communicating the second plurality ofdeceleration data at the second plurality of execution time increments,wherein the output circuit generates the brake command signalcorresponding to the second plurality of deceleration values at thesecond plurality of execution time increments on the output circuit foruse by the braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuate thebraking operation in accordance with the second braking control profile.

In an example embodiment, the first braking control profile stored inthe memory device comprises a first priority value, the second brakingcontrol profile stored in the memory device comprises a second priorityvalue, the memory device of the brake control unit stores arbitrationlogic executable by the processor to determine a rank between the firstand second priority values, and the brake control logic is executable bythe processor to: responsive to the arbitration logic determining thefirst priority value being ranked above the second priority value,communicate the first deceleration data to the output circuit as thedeceleration command data, or responsive to the arbitration logicdetermining the second priority value being ranked above the firstpriority value, communicate the second deceleration data to the outputcircuit as the deceleration command data.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method 500 using deceleration profilesstored in a brake controller in accordance with an example embodiments.With reference now to that Figure, a processor of the brake controller250 executes logic to determine whether and autonomous mode safe statemessage 306 is received. If no such message is received, the methodwaits until such message is received before proceeding.

If an autonomous mode safe state message is received in step 510, thesafe state data is decoded in step 520 by the decode logic 310 executedby the processor.

Next, at step 530, a safe state brake profile is selected from among theautonomous mode safe state deceleration profiles 350, 352, 354 forqueuing or otherwise staging for later execution in the event of anemergency and/or a failure in the system such as for example acommunication failure or the like.

At step 540 it is determined whether an emergency and/or a failure hasin the system such as for example a communication failure or the like.This step may for example include receiving a failure message 305 fromthe CAN bus 150 and determining whether the failure message 305 includesfailure data representative of the emergency and/or a failure. Overall,exercise or activation of the one or more safe state decelerationprofiles 350, 352, 354 stored in the memory 340 of the brake controller250 is deferred until such time as a failure or other emergencysituation occurs such as for example after receiving a failure message305 indicating a failure in a communication network of the vehicle or inother systems or components of the vehicle rather than being immediatelyexercised activated based on commands received from the XBR controllingdevices. In a further embodiment, braking system fault logic stored in amemory device of the brake controller is executable by the processor ofthe brake controller to determine the fault in the associated vehicle.The fault information may be derived from both the CAN bus as well infurther embodiments as from the braking system fault logic. The deferredexercise or activation of the one or more safe state decelerationprofiles 350, 352, 354 stored in the memory 340 of the brake controller250 is based on a safe state profile selection command received beforethe occurrence of a failure or an emergency situation.

At step 550, the selected queued or otherwise staged autonomous modesafe state deceleration profile is applied to the braking system 320 ofthe associated vehicle.

Safe State Braking Profile Automatically Selected and/or DeterminedLocally by Braking Controller and Executed by Braking Controller Basedon Vehicle Information

In a further example embodiment, one or more of the safe statedeceleration profiles 350, 352, 354 are automatically selected and/ordetermined locally by the brake controller 250 based on vehicle statusdata representative of vehicle information values present at a time thata fault such as a CAN bus fault or the like for example is determined byfault detecting logic of the braking controller 250, and/or by the brakecontroller 250 receiving a failure message 305 indicating a failure in acommunication network of the vehicle or in other systems or componentsof the vehicle. In this example embodiment, the brake controller 250 mayautomatically select and execute one of the safe state decelerationprofiles 350, 352, 354 based on the occurrence of the fault such as aCAN bus fault and also based on the vehicle status data. In an exampleembodiment, one or more safe state deceleration profiles other than theset of previously stored safe state deceleration profiles 350, 352, 354are automatically determined locally by the brake controller 250 basedon operational information of the associated vehicle including forexample one or more of a current level of XBR controlled braking, acurrent speed of the vehicle, a distance to the forward vehicle, ABS/WSShealth, a forward velocity relative to a vehicle forward to the vehicleof the brake controller, a current level of ABS activity, ADAS health,and/or ESP activity.

In addition, the selected deceleration profile 350, 352, 354 and/or theprofile determined locally by the brake controller 250 based onoperational information of the associated vehicle may be terminated inresponse to one or more predetermined conditions such as for examplebased on second operational information of the associated vehicle one ormore of: a reduction in speed of the associated vehicle relative to apredetermined speed reduction threshold; a speed of the associatedvehicle relative to a predetermined vehicle speed threshold; a driveroverride of the brake controller; a distance to an associated forwardvehicle forward of the associated vehicle relative to a predeterminedforward distance threshold; and/or a magnitude of relative velocitybetween the associated vehicle and the associated forward vehiclerelative to a predetermined relative velocity threshold.

In a further example embodiment, one or more of the safe statedeceleration profiles 350, 352, 354 are selected locally by the brakecontroller or a deceleration profile is determined locally by the brakecontroller 250 based on vehicle status data representative of a presentlevel of XBR controlled braking occurring at a time that a fault such asa CAN bus fault is determined by the braking controller 250. In thisexample embodiment, the brake controller 250 may select one of the safestate deceleration profiles 350, 352, 354 based on the occurrence of afault such as a CAN bus fault and also based on the present level of XBRcontrolled braking occurring and/or may determine the profile locallybased on operational information of the associated vehicle including forexample one or more of a current level of XBR controlled braking, acurrent speed of the vehicle, a distance to the forward vehicle, ABS/WSShealth, a forward velocity relative to a vehicle forward to the vehicleof the brake controller, a current level of ABS activity, ADAS health,and/or ESP activity.

In still yet another example embodiment, one or more of the safe statedeceleration profiles 350, 352, 354 are selected locally by the brakecontroller 250 based on vehicle status data representative of vehicleinformation values present at a time that a fault such as a CAN busfault for example is determined by fault detecting logic of the brakingcontroller 250, wherein the vehicle status data may be representative ofand may include any one or more of a level of XBR controlled braking, acurrent speed of the vehicle, a distance to the forward vehicle, ABS/WSShealth, a forward velocity relative to a vehicle forward to the vehicleof the brake controller 250, a current level of ABS activity, ADAShealth, ESP activity, or other values and/or parameters as may bedesired or necessary. In this example embodiment, the brake controller250 may select one of the safe state deceleration profiles 350, 352, 354based on the occurrence of a fault such as a CAN bus fault and alsobased on the vehicle status data representative of a comprehensive setof numerous operations of the vehicle.

In accordance with these example embodiments, the safe statedeceleration profiles 350, 352, 354 are not preselected by one or moreof the XBR controlling devices before the occurrence of the failure orthe emergency situation, but instead are automatically selected locallyby the brake controller 250 based on current operations of the vehiclesuch as for example a current level of XBR braking.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method 600 using deceleration profilesstored in a brake controller in accordance with an example embodiment.

With reference now to that Figure, the brake controller 250 controls abraking operation of a braking system of an associated vehicle in step610 in response to External Brake Request (XBR) deceleration demandsreceived from an associated XBR controlling device in a manner asdescribed above such as for example as shown in FIG. 4. In this regard,the network interface unit of the brake controller is in operativecommunication with one or more associated XBR controlling devices 121,131, 141 via an associated control network of the associated vehicle.The network interface unit selectively receives a first XBR decelerationcommand message from the associated XBR controlling device via theassociated control network, wherein the first XBR deceleration commandmessage comprises first XBR deceleration command data representative ofa first XBR deceleration command value for decelerating the associatedvehicle. The output circuit of the brake controller 250 is operativelycoupled with a braking system 320 of the associated vehicle, wherein theoutput circuit 320 is operative to receive deceleration command datarepresentative of a deceleration command value and to generate a brakecommand signal corresponding to the deceleration command value on anoutput of the output circuit for use by the braking system of theassociated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation at thedeceleration command value.

The brake control unit is operatively coupled with the network interfaceunit and the output circuit, and includes a processor and a memorydevice storing a first safe state braking control profile comprising afirst set of deceleration data paired with execution time datacomprising a first plurality of deceleration data representative of afirst plurality of deceleration values paired with a first plurality ofexecution time increment data representative of a first plurality ofexecution time increments. In addition, the brake controller includesbraking system fault logic, vehicle information logic, and brake controllogic stored in the memory device, wherein the braking system faultlogic is executable by the processor to determine a fault condition inthe associated vehicle such as at step 620, and the vehicle informationlogic is executable by the processor to determine operationalinformation of the associated vehicle such as at step 630.

The brake control logic stored in the memory device is executable by theprocessor to communicate in step 610 the first XBR deceleration commanddata to the output circuit as the deceleration command data, wherein theoutput circuit generates the brake command signal corresponding to thefirst XBR deceleration command value on the output circuit for use bythe braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuate the brakingoperation, responsive to the braking system fault logic networkinterface unit not determining in step 620 the fault condition in theassociated vehicle.

The brake control logic stored in the memory device is furtherexecutable by the processor to determine a braking control profile instep 640 based on the operational information of the associated vehicledetermined by the vehicle information logic executed by the processorsuch as at step 630.

In accordance with an embodiment, the vehicle information logic of thebrake controller is executable by the processor to determine a currentlevel of XBR braking as the operational information of the associatedvehicle for example. The brake control logic is executable by theprocessor responsive to the braking system fault logic network interfaceunit determining the fault condition in the associated vehicle in step620 to select in step 640 the first safe state braking control profilebased on the current level of XBR braking determined by the vehicleinformation logic, and communicate the first deceleration data of thefirst safe state braking control profile queued in the memory device tothe output circuit as the deceleration command data by communicating thefirst plurality of deceleration data at the first plurality of executiontime increments, wherein the output circuit generates the brake commandsignal corresponding to the first plurality of deceleration values atthe first plurality of execution time increments on the output circuitfor use by the braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuatethe braking operation in accordance with the first braking controlprofile.

In accordance with an embodiment, the vehicle information logic of thebrake controller is executable by the processor to determine one or moreof a level of XBR controlled braking, a current speed of the vehicle, adistance to the forward vehicle, ABS/WSS health, a forward velocityrelative to a vehicle forward to the vehicle of the brake controller250, a current level of ABS activity, ADAS health, ESP activity as theoperational information of the associated vehicle. The brake controllogic is executable by the processor responsive to the braking systemfault logic network interface unit determining the fault condition inthe associated vehicle in step 620 to select in step 640 the first safestate braking control profile based on the one or more of a level of XBRcontrolled braking, the current speed of the vehicle, the distance tothe forward vehicle, the ABS/WSS health, the forward velocity relativeto a vehicle forward to the vehicle of the brake controller 250, thecurrent level of ABS activity, the ADAS health, the ESP activitydetermined by the vehicle information logic, and to communicate thefirst deceleration data of the first safe state braking control profilequeued in the memory device to the output circuit as the decelerationcommand data by communicating the first plurality of deceleration dataat the first plurality of execution time increments, wherein the outputcircuit generates the brake command signal corresponding to the firstplurality of deceleration values at the first plurality of executiontime increments on the output circuit for use by the braking system ofthe associated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation in accordancewith the first braking control profile.

Responsive to the braking system fault logic network interface unitdetermining the fault condition in the associated vehicle in step 620,the brake control logic stored in the memory device is furtherexecutable by the processor to select the first safe state brakingcontrol profile based on the operational information of the associatedvehicle determined by the vehicle information logic in step 630, and tocommunicate in step 650 the first deceleration data of the first safestate braking control profile queued in the memory device to the outputcircuit as the deceleration command data by communicating the firstplurality of deceleration data at the first plurality of execution timeincrements, wherein the output circuit generates the brake commandsignal corresponding to the first plurality of deceleration values atthe first plurality of execution time increments on the output circuitfor use by the braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuatethe braking operation in accordance with the first braking controlprofile.

In accordance with an embodiment, a brake controller is provided forcontrolling a braking operation of a braking system of an associatedvehicle in response to External Brake Request (XBR) deceleration demandsreceived from an associated XBR controlling device. The brake controllerof an example embodiment includes a network interface unit in operativecommunication with the associated XBR controlling device via anassociated control network of the associated vehicle, the networkinterface unit selectively receiving a first XBR deceleration commandmessage from the associated XBR controlling device via the associatedcontrol network, the first XBR deceleration command message comprisingfirst XBR deceleration command data representative of a first XBRdeceleration command value for decelerating the associated vehicle.

The brake controller of an example embodiment further includes an outputcircuit operatively coupled with a braking system of the associatedvehicle, the output circuit being operative to receive decelerationcommand data representative of a deceleration command value and togenerate a brake command signal corresponding to the decelerationcommand value on an output of the output circuit for use by the brakingsystem of the associated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation atthe deceleration command value.

The brake controller of an example embodiment further includes a brakecontrol unit operatively coupled with the network interface unit and theoutput circuit. The brake control unit comprises a processor and amemory device operatively coupled with the processor. The memory devicestores vehicle information, braking system fault, and brake controllogic, wherein the vehicle information logic is executable by theprocessor to determine first operational information of the associatedvehicle. The braking system fault logic stored in the memory device isexecutable by the processor to selectively determine a fault conditionin the associated vehicle based on a fault occurring in the associatedvehicle. The brake control logic stored in the memory device isexecutable by the processor to, responsive to the braking system faultlogic network interface unit not determining the fault condition in theassociated vehicle: communicate the first XBR deceleration command datato the output circuit as the deceleration command data, wherein theoutput circuit generates the brake command signal corresponding to thefirst XBR deceleration command value on the output circuit for use bythe braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuate the brakingoperation, or responsive to the braking system fault logic networkinterface unit determining the fault condition in the associatedvehicle: based on the first operational information of the associatedvehicle determined by the vehicle information logic, determine a firstsafe state braking control profile comprising first safe state brakingcontrol profile data representative of a first safe state brakingcontrol profile value for decelerating the associated vehicle; andcommunicate the first safe state braking control profile data of thefirst safe state braking control profile to the output circuit as thedeceleration command data, wherein the output circuit generates thebrake command signal corresponding to the first safe state brakingcontrol profile value on the output circuit for use by the brakingsystem of the associated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation inaccordance with the determined first safe state braking control profile.

In accordance with an embodiment, the vehicle information logic isexecutable by the processor to determine one or more of a current levelof XBR controlled braking, a current speed of the vehicle, a distance tothe forward vehicle, ABS/WSS health, a forward velocity relative to avehicle forward to the vehicle of the brake controller, a current levelof ABS activity, ADAS health, ESP activity as the first operationalinformation of the associated vehicle.

In accordance with an embodiment, the vehicle information logic isexecutable by the processor to determine second operational informationof the associated vehicle, and the brake control logic is executable bythe processor to: after communicating the first safe state brakingcontrol profile data of the first safe state braking control profile tothe output circuit as the deceleration command data: based on a value ofthe second operational information of the associated vehicle determinedby the vehicle information logic, selectively communicate first safestate braking control profile termination data representative of adeceleration termination command value for terminating deceleration ofthe associated vehicle to the output circuit as the deceleration commanddata, wherein the output circuit generates a null brake command signalcorresponding to the deceleration termination command value on theoutput circuit for use by the braking system of the associated vehicleto terminate the braking operation.

In accordance with an embodiment, the vehicle information logic isexecutable by the processor to determine a current level of XBRcontrolled braking as the first operational information of theassociated vehicle, and the vehicle information logic is executable bythe processor to determine as the second operational information of theassociated vehicle one or more of: a reduction in speed of theassociated vehicle relative to a predetermined speed reductionthreshold; a speed of the associated vehicle relative to a predeterminedvehicle speed threshold; a driver override of the brake controller; adistance to an associated forward vehicle forward of the associatedvehicle relative to a predetermined forward distance threshold; and/or amagnitude of relative velocity between the associated vehicle and theassociated forward vehicle relative to a predetermined relative velocitythreshold.

In accordance with an embodiment, the brake control logic is executableby the processor to, responsive to the braking system fault logicnetwork interface unit determining the fault condition in the associatedvehicle, determine the current level of XBR controlled braking to be thefirst safe state braking control profile.

In accordance with an embodiment, the memory device of the brake controlunit stores a first safe state braking control profile comprising afirst set of deceleration data paired with execution time datacomprising: a first plurality of deceleration data representative of afirst plurality of deceleration values paired with a first plurality ofexecution time increment data representative of a first plurality ofexecution time increments, wherein the brake control logic is executableby the processor to, responsive to the braking system fault logicnetwork interface unit determining the fault condition in the associatedvehicle, selecting the first safe state braking control profile based onthe first operational information of the associated vehicle determinedby the vehicle information logic, and communicate the first decelerationdata of the first safe state braking control profile queued in thememory device to the output circuit as the deceleration command data bycommunicating the first plurality of deceleration data at the firstplurality of execution time increments, wherein the output circuitgenerates the brake command signal corresponding to the first pluralityof deceleration values at the first plurality of execution timeincrements on the output circuit for use by the braking system of theassociated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation in accordancewith the first braking control profile.

In accordance with an embodiment, the vehicle information logic isexecutable by the processor to determine a current level of XBR brakingas the first operational information of the associated vehicle, and thebrake control logic is executable by the processor to: responsive to thebraking system fault logic network interface unit not determining thefault condition in the associated vehicle, communicate the first XBRdeceleration command data to the output circuit as the decelerationcommand data, wherein the output circuit generates the brake commandsignal corresponding to the first XBR deceleration command value on theoutput circuit for use by the braking system of the associated vehicleto effectuate the braking operation, or responsive to the braking systemfault logic network interface unit determining the fault condition inthe associated vehicle, selecting the first safe state braking controlprofile based on the current level of XBR braking determined by thevehicle information logic, and communicate the first deceleration dataof the first safe state braking control profile queued in the memorydevice to the output circuit as the deceleration command data bycommunicating the first plurality of deceleration data at the firstplurality of execution time increments, wherein the output circuitgenerates the brake command signal corresponding to the first pluralityof deceleration values at the first plurality of execution timeincrements on the output circuit for use by the braking system of theassociated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation in accordancewith the first braking control profile.

In accordance with an embodiment, the vehicle information logic isexecutable by the processor to determine one or more of a level of XBRcontrolled braking, a current speed of the vehicle, a distance to theforward vehicle, ABS/WSS health, a forward velocity relative to avehicle forward to the vehicle of the brake controller, a current levelof ABS activity, ADAS health, ESP activity as the first operationalinformation of the associated vehicle. In the example embodiment, thebrake control logic is executable by the processor to: responsive to thebraking system fault logic network interface unit not determining thefault condition in the associated vehicle, communicate the first XBRdeceleration command data to the output circuit as the decelerationcommand data, wherein the output circuit generates the brake commandsignal corresponding to the first XBR deceleration command value on theoutput circuit for use by the braking system of the associated vehicleto effectuate the braking operation, or responsive to the braking systemfault logic network interface unit determining the fault condition inthe associated vehicle, selecting the first safe state braking controlprofile based on the one or more of a level of XBR controlled braking, acurrent speed of the vehicle, a distance to the forward vehicle, ABS/WSShealth, a forward velocity relative to a vehicle forward to the vehicleof the brake controller 250, a current level of ABS activity, ADAShealth, ESP activity determined by the vehicle information logic, andcommunicate the first deceleration data of the first safe state brakingcontrol profile queued in the memory device to the output circuit as thedeceleration command data by communicating the first plurality ofdeceleration data at the first plurality of execution time increments,wherein the output circuit generates the brake command signalcorresponding to the first plurality of deceleration values at the firstplurality of execution time increments on the output circuit for use bythe braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuate the brakingoperation in accordance with the first braking control profile.

In accordance with an embodiment, the memory device of the brake controlunit stores a second braking control profile comprising a second set ofdeceleration data paired with execution time data comprising: a secondplurality of deceleration data representative of a second plurality ofdeceleration values paired with a second plurality of execution timeincrement data representative of a second plurality of execution timeincrements. In the example embodiment, the vehicle information logic isexecutable by the processor to determine a current level of XBR brakingas the first operational information of the associated vehicle. In theexample embodiment, the brake control logic is executable by theprocessor to: responsive to the braking system fault logic networkinterface unit not determining the fault condition in the associatedvehicle, communicate the first XBR deceleration command data to theoutput circuit as the deceleration command data, wherein the outputcircuit generates the brake command signal corresponding to the firstXBR deceleration command value on the output circuit for use by thebraking system of the associated vehicle to effectuate the brakingoperation, or responsive to the braking system fault logic networkinterface unit determining the fault condition in the associatedvehicle: selecting the first safe state braking control profile based ona first current level of XBR braking determined by the vehicleinformation logic, and communicate the first deceleration data of thefirst safe state braking control profile queued in the memory device tothe output circuit as the deceleration command data by communicating thefirst plurality of deceleration data at the first plurality of executiontime increments, wherein the output circuit generates the brake commandsignal corresponding to the first plurality of deceleration values atthe first plurality of execution time increments on the output circuitfor use by the braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuatethe braking operation in accordance with the first braking controlprofile, or selecting the second safe state braking control profilebased on a second current level of XBR braking determined by the vehicleinformation logic, and communicate the second deceleration data of thesecond safe state braking control profile queued in the memory device tothe output circuit as the deceleration command data by communicating thesecond plurality of deceleration data at the second plurality ofexecution time increments, wherein the output circuit generates thebrake command signal corresponding to the second plurality ofdeceleration values at the second plurality of execution time incrementson the output circuit for use by the braking system of the associatedvehicle to effectuate the braking operation in accordance with thesecond braking control profile.

FIG. 7a is a graph showing a set of XBR deceleration curves that may beexecuted by a vehicle at a time of a fault. In accordance with anembodiment, the vehicle may be executing a first XBR deceleration 710 ata time t1 of a fault. Alternatively in the example, the vehicle may beexecuting a second XBR deceleration 720 at the time t1 of the fault, ora third XBR deceleration 730 at the time t1 of the fault. Responsive tothe braking system fault logic network interface unit determining thefault condition in the associated vehicle in step 620 (FIG. 6), thebrake control logic stored in the memory device is executable by theprocessor to select and/or determine locally a safe state brakingcontrol profile 712, 722, 732 based on the operational information ofthe associated vehicle determined by the vehicle information logic, andto communicate the deceleration data of the selected and/or determinedsafe state braking control profile 712, 722, 732 to the output circuitas the deceleration command data by communicating the first plurality ofdeceleration data at the first plurality of execution time increments,wherein the output circuit generates the brake command signalcorresponding to the first plurality of deceleration values at the firstplurality of execution time increments on the output circuit for use bythe braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuate the brakingoperation in accordance with the first braking control profile.

In accordance with an embodiment, the vehicle information logic of thebrake controller is executable by the processor to determine a currentlevel 710, 720, or 730 of XBR braking as the operational information ofthe associated vehicle. FIGS. 7b-7d are graphs showing possibledeceleration profiles 712, 722, 732 that may be selected and/or by thebrake controller based on the condition of the vehicle including forexample the XBR deceleration curve 710, 720, 730 currently beingperformed by the vehicle. Other operational information of theassociated vehicle may be used as well to determine a braking ordeceleration profile, wherein the vehicle information logic isexecutable by the processor to determine one or more of a current levelof XBR controlled braking, a current speed of the vehicle, a distance tothe forward vehicle, ABS/WSS health, a forward velocity relative to avehicle forward to the vehicle of the brake controller, a current levelof ABS activity, ADAS health, and/or ESP activity as the firstoperational information of the associated vehicle. Responsive to thebraking system fault logic network interface unit determining the faultcondition in the associated vehicle, the brake control logic isexecutable by the processor to, based on the first operationalinformation of the associated vehicle determined by the vehicleinformation logic, determine a first safe state braking control profilecomprising first safe state braking control profile data representativeof a first safe state braking control profile value for decelerating theassociated vehicle, and communicate the first safe state braking controlprofile data of the first safe state braking control profile to theoutput circuit as the deceleration command data, wherein the outputcircuit generates the brake command signal corresponding to the firstsafe state braking control profile value on the output circuit for useby the braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuate thebraking operation in accordance with the determined first safe statebraking control profile.

In the example embodiment, the brake control may determine a firstdeceleration profile curve 712 or draw a different curve (not shown)from the memory 340 (FIG. 3) for an XBR deceleration operation currentlybeing performed by the from the memory 340 (FIG. 3) vehicle at the timeof the fault determination t1 of (0≤XBR<2). The first decelerationprofile curve 712 is terminated at T2 based on based on a value ofsecond operational information of the associated vehicle determined bythe vehicle information logic. Safe state braking control profiletermination data representative of a deceleration termination commandvalue for terminating deceleration of the associated vehicle iscommunicated to the output circuit as a deceleration command data,wherein the output circuit generates a null brake command signalcorresponding to the deceleration termination command value on theoutput circuit at T2 for use by the braking system of the associatedvehicle to terminate the braking operation. In the example embodiment,the vehicle information logic describe above is executable by theprocessor to determine as the second operational information of theassociated vehicle one or more of: a reduction in speed of theassociated vehicle relative to a predetermined speed reductionthreshold; a speed of the associated vehicle relative to a predeterminedvehicle speed threshold; a driver override of the brake controller; adistance to an associated forward vehicle forward of the associatedvehicle relative to a predetermined forward distance threshold; and/or amagnitude of relative velocity between the associated vehicle and theassociated forward vehicle relative to a predetermined relative velocitythreshold. For this reason the determined deceleration profile curve 712is shown having a gap 713 of indeterminate time.

Similarly in the example embodiment, the brake control may determine asecond deceleration profile curve 722 for an XBR deceleration operationcurrently being performed by the vehicle at the time of the faultdetermination t1 of (2≤XBR<6). The second deceleration profile curve 722is terminated at T4 based on based on a value of second operationalinformation of the associated vehicle determined by the vehicleinformation logic. Safe state braking control profile termination datarepresentative of a deceleration termination command value forterminating deceleration of the associated vehicle is communicated tothe output circuit as a deceleration command data, wherein the outputcircuit generates a null brake command signal corresponding to thedeceleration termination command value on the output circuit at T4 foruse by the braking system of the associated vehicle to terminate thebraking operation. In the example embodiment, the vehicle informationlogic describe above is executable by the processor to determine as thesecond operational information of the associated vehicle one or more of:a reduction in speed of the associated vehicle relative to apredetermined speed reduction threshold; a speed of the associatedvehicle relative to a predetermined vehicle speed threshold; a driveroverride of the brake controller; a distance to an associated forwardvehicle forward of the associated vehicle relative to a predeterminedforward distance threshold; and/or a magnitude of relative velocitybetween the associated vehicle and the associated forward vehiclerelative to a predetermined relative velocity threshold. For this reasonthe determined deceleration profile curve 722 is shown having a gap 723of indeterminate time. In addition, the determined deceleration profilecurve 722 of the example embodiment is shown having a ramp-in portion724 for reasons to be described below.

Also similarly in the example embodiment, the brake control may select athird deceleration profile curve 732 from the memory 340 (FIG. 3) for anXBR deceleration operation currently being performed by the vehicle atthe time of the fault determination t1 of (6≤XBR≤12). The selecteddeceleration profile curve 732 of the example embodiment is shown havinga ramp-in portion 734 for reasons to be described below.

Braking Profile Priority, Time-Base, and Ramp-In-Rate Characteristics

As shown in Table 1 below, in the example embodiment, each of theplurality braking profiles 330-334 and 350-354 stored in the memory 340of the braking controller 250 is assigned a Priority for executionrelative to other braking profiles stored in the memory 340, a Time-Basefor an acceleration/deceleration, and a Ramp-In-Rate during which thebrake controller ramps in from an existing XBR demand to a first pointin an acceleration table. The arbitration and application logic 360executing in the brake controller 250 may refer to the Priorityassignments for situations when competing XBR controlling devicesrequest different braking profiles. The brake controller 250 may thendeliver the selected one of the plurality braking profiles 330-334 and350-354 to a braking system Electronic Control Unit (ECU) 320 of theassociated vehicle. The braking system MCU 320 of the associated vehiclemay then apply the braking signals received from the brake controller250 to brake mechanisms 322, 324, 326, 328 of the associated vehicle.

TABLE 1 Time and priority definition table Time and Priority DefinitionTable Ramp In Time Base Brake Rate (Jerk) Increment Profile ProfileExecution Name Priority (m/s/s/s) (s) 330 ACC 6 2 0.5 Wingman-NormalOperation 332 ACC 3 1 0.5 Wingman-Graceful Start 334 ACC 5 1 1Wingman-Graceful Exit 350 Autonomous Safe State #1 4 0.5 0.25 (no nearbycars)1 352 Autonomous Safe State #2 7 10 0.5 (platooning-following) 354Autonomous Safe State #3 8 10 0.5 (platooning-leading) 7 ESP Fault 2 10.5 8 WSS Fault 1 2 0.5

As shown in Table 1, the one or more XBR controlling devices may selectthe ACC Normal Operation braking profile 330 when the associated vehicleis operated in an autonomous or in a semi-autonomous mode, wherein theACC Normal Operation braking profile 330 has a priority assignment valueof 6, a ramp-in-rate of 2 m/s/s/s, and a time base of 0.5 sec.Similarly, the ACC Graceful Start braking profile 332 has a priorityassignment value of 3, a ramp-in-rate of 1 m/s/s/s, and a time base of0.5 sec, and the ACC Graceful Exit braking profile 334 has a priorityassignment value of 5, a ramp-in-rate of 1 m/s/s/s, and a time base of1.0 sec.

In the example embodiment, the arbitration and application logic 360 isexecutable by the processor of the brake controller 250 to arbitratebetween the various braking profiles 330, 332, 334 when more than oneare selected, and when a second braking profile is requested by an XBRcontrolling device before a first earlier-requested braking profilehaving a lower Priority level than the second braking profile has had achance to complete. The arbitration is based on the priority valuesassigned to the profiles wherein a lower priority value is selected bythe brake controller 250 over profiles having higher priority values. Byway of example, the ACC Graceful Start braking profile 332 has apriority assignment value of 3 and is selected by the arbitration andapplication logic 360 over the ACC Normal Operation braking profile 330having a priority assignment value of 6 when both are requested by thevarious XBR requesting devices of the vehicle. The ACC Graceful Startbraking profile 332 is then applied by the arbitration and applicationlogic 360 to the braking system MCU 320 of the associated vehicle.

In further addition to the above, the arbitration and application logic360 is executable by the processor of the brake controller 250 to rampin different selected braking profiles when the XBR requesting devicesof the vehicle request different braking profiles in succession, andwhen a second braking profile is requested by an XBR controlling devicebefore a first earlier-requested braking profile having a lower Prioritylevel than the second braking profile has had a chance to complete. Byway of example, if the ACC Normal Operation braking profile 330 is beingexecuted by the brake controller 250 delivering to the braking systemMCU 320 of the associated vehicle the ACC Normal Operation brakingprofile 330 having a priority assignment value of 6, and the brakecontroller receives a braking profile request message from one of theXBR requesting devices requesting the ACC Graceful Start braking profile332 having the priority assignment value of 3, the arbitration andapplication logic 360 selects the ACC Graceful Start braking profile 332having the priority assignment value of 3 for delivery to the brakingsystem MCU 320, and the arbitration and application logic 360 will alsoramp in the ACC Graceful Start braking profile 332 using the Ramp InRate of the ACC Graceful Start braking profile 332; namely 1 m/s/s/s asshown in the Table 1 above. This allows for varying length and reactionof deceleration demands for limited number of table points. Upon loss ofsignal/failure the device active and priority would be used to determinethe reaction. For example, if two XBR Demands are active and the onewith a lower priority number (more important) would define the profile.The final value at the end of the table command would be 0 m/s/s.

As described above, in the example embodiment, each of the pluralitybraking profiles 330-334 and 350-354 are stored in the memory 340 of thebraking controller 250. In the example embodiment, each of the safestate deceleration profiles specifies a set of deceleration data pairedwith execution time data comprising a first plurality of decelerationdata representative of a first plurality of deceleration values pairedwith a first plurality of execution time increment data representativeof a first plurality of execution time increments to be followed by thebrake controller 250 for generating brake signals 252 to be sent to abraking system Electronic Control Unit (ECU) 320 of the associatedvehicle. Table 2 below illustrates deceleration and execution timepairings in accordance with an example embodiment.

TABLE 2 XBR Acceleration Table XBR Acceleration Table Failure Profile330 332 334 350 352 354 7 8 Decel Value 1 −4 −4 −2 −10 0 0 −3 −1.5 Decelvalue 2 −3 −3.5 −2.5 −10 0 0 −3 −1.5 Decel value 3 −2 −3 −3.5 −10 0 0 −3−1.5 Decel value 4 −1 −3 −4 −10 0 0 −3 −1.5 Decel value 5 0 −3 −4 −10 00 −2.5 −1.5 Decel value 6 0 −3 −4 −10 0 0 −2.5 −1.5 Decel value 7 0 −3−2 −10 0 0 −2.5 −1.5 Decel value 8 0 −3 0 −6 0 0 −2.5 −1.5 Decel value 90 −3 0 −6 0 0 −2.5 −1.5 Decel value 10 0 −3 0 −6 0 0 −2.5 −1.5 Decelvalue 11 0 −3 0 −6 0 0 −2.5 −1.5 Decel value 12 0 −3 0 −5 0 0 −2.5 −1.5Decel value 13 0 −3 0 −4 0 0 −2.5 −1.5 Decel value 14 0 −3 0 −3 0 0 −2.5−1.5 Decel value 15 0 −3 0 −1.5 0 0 −2.5 −1.5 Decel Value 16 0 −3 0 0 00 −2.5 −1.5

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a deceleration graph 800 showingrepresentative deceleration profiles in accordance with an exampleembodiment. As described above, in the example embodiment, each of theplurality braking profiles 330-334 and 350-354 are stored in the memory340 of the braking controller 250. In the example embodiment, each ofthe safe state deceleration profiles specifies a set of decelerationdata paired with execution time data comprising a first plurality ofdeceleration data representative of a first plurality of decelerationvalues paired with a first plurality of execution time increment datarepresentative of a first plurality of execution time increments to befollowed by the brake controller 250 for generating brake signals 252 tobe sent to a braking system Electronic Control Unit (ECU) 320 of theassociated vehicle.

A first deceleration curve 830 in the deceleration graph 800 isrepresentative of the ACC Normal Operation braking profile 330 beingexecuted by the brake controller 250 delivering to the braking systemMCU 320 of the associated vehicle. From Table 1 and Table 2 it can beseen that the ACC Normal Operation braking profile 330 has a Time BaseIncrement of 0.5 and issues deceleration level commands in the 0.5second increments to the braking system MCU 320 in a sequence of −4, −3,−2, and −1.

A second deceleration curve 832 in the deceleration graph 800 isrepresentative of the ACC Graceful Start braking profile 332 beingexecuted by the brake controller 250 delivering to the braking systemMCU 320 of the associated vehicle. From Table 1 and Table 2 it can beseen that the ACC Graceful Start braking profile 332 has a Time BaseIncrement of 0.5 and issues deceleration level commands in the 0.5second increments to the braking system MCU 320 in a sequence of −4,−3.5, −3, −3, −3, −3, −3, etc.

A third deceleration curve 850 in the deceleration graph 800 isrepresentative of the Autonomous Safe State #1 (no nearby cars) profile350 being executed by the brake controller 250 delivering to the brakingsystem MCU 320 of the associated vehicle. From Table 1 and Table 2 itcan be seen that the Autonomous Safe State #1 (no nearby cars) profile350 has a Time Base Increment of 0.25 and issues deceleration levelcommands in the 0.25 second increments to the braking system MCU 320 ina sequence of −10, −10, −10, −10, −10, −10, −10, −6, −6, −6, −6, −5, −4,−3, etc.

It is to be understood that other embodiments will be utilized andstructural and functional changes will be made without departing fromthe scope of the present invention. The foregoing descriptions ofembodiments of the present invention have been presented for thepurposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.Accordingly, many modifications and variations are possible in light ofthe above teachings. It is therefore intended that the scope of theinvention be limited not by this detailed description.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A brake controller controlling a brakingoperation of a braking system of an associated vehicle in response toExternal Brake Request (XBR) deceleration demands received from anassociated XBR controlling device, the brake controller comprising: anetwork interface device in operative communication with the associatedXBR controlling device via an associated control network of theassociated vehicle, the network interface device selectively receiving afirst XBR deceleration profile selection message from the associated XBRcontrolling device via the associated control network; an output circuitoperatively coupled with a braking system of the associated vehicle, theoutput circuit being operative to receive deceleration command datarepresentative of a deceleration command value and to generate a brakecommand signal corresponding to the deceleration command value on anoutput of the output circuit for use by the braking system of theassociated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation at thedeceleration command value; and a brake control device operativelycoupled with the network interface device and the output circuit, thebrake control device comprising: a processor; a memory device storing aplurality of braking control profiles comprising deceleration profiledata representative of deceleration profile values; and brake controllogic stored in the memory device, the brake control logic beingexecutable by the processor to, responsive to the network interfacedevice receiving the first XBR deceleration profile selection message:decode the first XBR deceleration profile selection message to determinea first braking profile selection signal selecting a first brakingcontrol profile of the plurality of braking control profiles by thefirst XBR deceleration profile selection message, wherein the selectedfirst braking control profile comprises first deceleration profile datarepresentative of a first deceleration profile value; and communicatethe first deceleration profile data to the output circuit as thedeceleration command data, wherein the output circuit generates thebrake command signal corresponding to the first deceleration profilevalue for use by the braking system of the associated vehicle toeffectuate the braking operation in accordance with the first brakingcontrol profile.
 2. The brake controller according to claim 1, wherein:the first braking control profile of the plurality of braking controlprofiles stored in the memory device comprises ramp-in datarepresentative of a maximum rate of deceleration change for initiatingthe first braking control profile by the brake control logic relative toa braking control currently being executed by the brake control logic;the brake control logic communicates the first deceleration data to theoutput circuit as the deceleration command data by: adjusting thebraking control currently being executed in increments of the ramp-indata, communicating the adjusted braking control currently beingexecuted to the output circuit as the deceleration command data untilthe adjusted braking control currently being executed matches the firstdeceleration data, then communicating the second deceleration data tothe output circuit as the deceleration command data.
 3. The brakecontroller according to claim 1, wherein: the first braking controlprofile of the plurality of braking control profiles stored in thememory device of the brake control device comprises: a first set ofdeceleration data paired with execution time data comprising: a firstplurality of deceleration data representative of a first plurality ofdeceleration values paired with a first plurality of execution timeincrement data representative of a first plurality of execution timeincrements; the brake control logic stored in the memory device of thebrake control device is executable by the processor to, responsive tothe network interface device receiving the first XBR decelerationprofile selection message: communicate the first deceleration data tothe output circuit as the deceleration command data by communicating thefirst plurality of deceleration data at the first plurality of executiontime increments, wherein the output circuit generates the brake commandsignal corresponding to the first plurality of deceleration values atthe first plurality of execution time increments on the output circuitfor use by the braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuatethe braking operation in accordance with the first braking controlprofile.
 4. The brake controller according to claim 3, wherein: theplurality of braking control profiles stored in the memory device of thebrake control device comprises: a second braking control profilecomprising a second set of deceleration data paired with execution timedata comprising: a second plurality of deceleration data representativeof a second plurality of deceleration values paired with a secondplurality of execution time increment data representative of a secondplurality of execution time increments; the brake control logic isexecutable by the processor to, responsive to the network interfacedevice receiving a second XBR deceleration profile selection message:decode the second XBR deceleration profile selection message todetermine a second braking profile selection signal selecting the secondbraking control profile by the second deceleration trigger message; andcommunicate the second deceleration data to the output circuit as thedeceleration command data by communicating the second plurality ofdeceleration data at the second plurality of execution time increments,wherein the output circuit generates the brake command signalcorresponding to the second plurality of deceleration values at thesecond plurality of execution time increments on the output circuit foruse by the braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuate thebraking operation in accordance with the second braking control profile.5. The brake controller according to claim 4, wherein: the first brakingcontrol profile of the plurality of braking control profiles stored inthe memory device comprises a first priority value; the second brakingcontrol profile of the plurality of braking control profiles stored inthe memory device comprises a second priority value; the memory deviceof the brake control device stores arbitration logic executable by theprocessor to determine a rank between the first and second priorityvalues; and the brake control logic is executable by the processor to:responsive to the arbitration logic determining the first priority valuebeing ranked above the second priority value, communicate the firstdeceleration data to the output circuit as the deceleration commanddata, or responsive to the arbitration logic determining the secondpriority value being ranked above the first priority value, communicatethe second deceleration data to the output circuit as the decelerationcommand data.
 6. A brake controller controlling a braking operation of abraking system of an associated vehicle in response to External BrakeRequest (XBR) deceleration demands received from an associated XBRcontrolling device, the brake controller comprising: a network interfacedevice in operative communication with the associated XBR controllingdevice via an associated control network of the associated vehicle, thenetwork interface device selectively receiving a first safe statedeceleration profile selection message from the associated XBRcontrolling device via the associated control network; an output circuitoperatively coupled with a braking system of the associated vehicle, theoutput circuit being operative to receive deceleration command datarepresentative of a deceleration command value and to generate a brakecommand signal corresponding to the deceleration command value on anoutput of the output circuit for use by the braking system of theassociated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation at thedeceleration command value; and a brake control device operativelycoupled with the network interface device and the output circuit, thebrake control device comprising: a memory device storing a plurality ofsafe state braking control profiles comprising safe state brakingcontrol profile data representative of safe state braking controlprofile values; a processor; braking system fault logic stored in thememory device, the braking system fault logic being executable by theprocessor to determine a fault in the associated vehicle; and brakecontrol logic stored in the memory device, the brake control logic beingexecutable by the processor to, responsive to the network interfacedevice receiving the first safe state deceleration profile selectionmessage: decode the first safe state deceleration profile selectionmessage to determine a first safe state braking profile selection signalselecting a first safe state braking control profile of the plurality ofsafe state braking control profiles by the first safe state decelerationprofile selection message, wherein the selected first safe state brakingcontrol profile comprises first safe state braking control profile datarepresentative of a first safe state braking control profile value; andqueue in the memory device the first safe state braking control profileselected by the first safe state braking profile selection signal;wherein the brake control logic is operable to: responsive to thebraking system fault logic determining the fault in the associatedvehicle, communicate the first deceleration data of the first safe statebraking control profile queued in the memory device to the outputcircuit as the deceleration command data, wherein the output circuitgenerates the brake command signal corresponding to the first safe statebraking control profile value on the output circuit for use by thebraking system of the associated vehicle to effectuate the brakingoperation in accordance with the first safe state braking controlprofile.
 7. The brake controller according to claim 6, wherein: thefirst safe state braking control profile of the plurality of safe statebraking control profiles stored in the memory device comprises ramp-indata representative of a maximum rate of deceleration change forinitiating the first braking control profile by the brake control logicrelative to a braking control currently being executed by the brakecontrol logic; the brake control logic communicates the firstdeceleration data to the output circuit as the deceleration command databy: adjusting the braking control currently being executed in incrementsof the ramp-in data, communicating the adjusted braking controlcurrently being executed to the output circuit as the decelerationcommand data until the adjusted braking control currently being executedmatches the first deceleration data, then communicating the seconddeceleration data to the output circuit as the deceleration commanddata.
 8. The brake controller according to claim 6, wherein: the firstsafe state braking control profile of the plurality of safe statebraking control profiles stored in the memory device of the brakecontrol device comprises: a first set of deceleration data paired withexecution time data comprising: a first plurality of deceleration datarepresentative of a first plurality of deceleration values paired with afirst plurality of execution time increment data representative of afirst plurality of execution time increments; and the brake controllogic stored in the memory device of the brake control device isoperable to: responsive to the braking system fault logic determiningthe fault in the associated vehicle, communicate the first decelerationdata of the first safe state braking control profile queued in thememory device to the output circuit as the deceleration command data bycommunicating the first plurality of deceleration data at the firstplurality of execution time increments, wherein the output circuitgenerates the brake command signal corresponding to the first pluralityof deceleration values at the first plurality of execution timeincrements on the output circuit for use by the braking system of theassociated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation in accordancewith the first braking control profile.
 9. The brake controlleraccording to claim 8, wherein: the plurality of safe state brakingcontrol profiles stored in the memory device of the brake control devicecomprises: a second braking control profile comprising a second set ofdeceleration data paired with execution time data comprising: a secondplurality of deceleration data representative of a second plurality ofdeceleration values paired with a second plurality of execution timeincrement data representative of a second plurality of execution timeincrements; the brake control logic is executable by the processor to,responsive to the network interface device receiving a second safe statedeceleration profile selection message: decode the second safe statedeceleration profile selection message to determine a second brakingprofile selection signal selecting the second braking control profile bythe second deceleration trigger message; and communicate the seconddeceleration data to the output circuit as the deceleration command databy communicating the second plurality of deceleration data at the secondplurality of execution time increments, wherein the output circuitgenerates the brake command signal corresponding to the second pluralityof deceleration values at the second plurality of execution timeincrements on the output circuit for use by the braking system of theassociated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation in accordancewith the second braking control profile.
 10. The brake controlleraccording to claim 9, wherein: the first braking control profile of theplurality of safe state braking control profiles stored in the memorydevice comprises a first priority value; the second braking controlprofile of the plurality of safe state braking control profiles storedin the memory device comprises a second priority value; the memorydevice of the brake control device stores arbitration logic executableby the processor to determine a rank between the first and secondpriority values; and the brake control logic is executable by theprocessor to: responsive to the arbitration logic determining the firstpriority value being ranked above the second priority value, communicatethe first deceleration data to the output circuit as the decelerationcommand data, or responsive to the arbitration logic determining thesecond priority value being ranked above the first priority value,communicate the second deceleration data to the output circuit as thedeceleration command data.
 11. A brake controller controlling a brakingoperation of a braking system of an associated vehicle in response toExternal Brake Request (XBR) deceleration demands received from anassociated XBR controlling device, the brake controller comprising: anetwork interface device in operative communication with the associatedXBR controlling device via an associated control network of theassociated vehicle, the network interface device selectively receiving afirst XBR deceleration command message from the associated XBRcontrolling device via the associated control network, the first XBRdeceleration command message comprising first XBR deceleration commanddata representative of a first XBR deceleration command value fordecelerating the associated vehicle; an output circuit operativelycoupled with a braking system of the associated vehicle, the outputcircuit being operative to receive deceleration command datarepresentative of a deceleration command value and to generate a brakecommand signal corresponding to the deceleration command value on anoutput of the output circuit for use by the braking system of theassociated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation at thedeceleration command value; and a brake control device operativelycoupled with the network interface device and the output circuit, thebrake control device comprising: a processor; a memory deviceoperatively coupled with the processor; vehicle information logic storedin the memory device, the vehicle information logic being executable bythe processor to determine first operational information of theassociated vehicle; a plurality of safe state braking control profilesstored in the memory device, the plurality of safe state braking controlprofiles comprising safe state braking control profile datarepresentative of safe state braking control profile values; brakingsystem fault logic stored in the memory device, the braking system faultlogic being executable by the processor to selectively determine a faultcondition in the associated vehicle based on a fault occurring in theassociated vehicle; and brake control logic stored in the memory device,the brake control logic being executable by the processor to: responsiveto the braking system fault logic network interface device determiningthe fault condition in the associated vehicle: based on the firstoperational information of the associated vehicle determined by thevehicle information logic, determine a first safe state braking controlprofile of the plurality of safe state braking control profiles storedin the memory device, the determined first safe state braking controlprofile comprising first safe state braking control profile datarepresentative of a first safe state braking control profile value fordecelerating the associated vehicle; and communicate the first safestate braking control profile data of the first safe state brakingcontrol profile to the output circuit as the deceleration command data,wherein the output circuit generates the brake command signalcorresponding to the first safe state braking control profile value onthe output circuit for use by the braking system of the associatedvehicle to effectuate the braking operation in accordance with thedetermined first safe state braking control profile.
 12. The brakecontroller according to claim 11, wherein: the vehicle information logicis executable by the processor to determine one or more of a currentlevel of XBR controlled braking, a current speed of the vehicle, adistance to an associated forward vehicle forward of the associatedvehicle, ABS/WSS health, a forward velocity relative to a vehicleforward to the vehicle of the brake controller, a current level of ABSactivity, ADAS health, ESP activity as the first operational informationof the associated vehicle.
 13. The brake controller according to claim11, wherein: the vehicle information logic is executable by theprocessor to determine second operational information of the associatedvehicle; the brake control logic is executable by the processor to:after communicating the first safe state braking control profile data ofthe first safe state braking control profile to the output circuit asthe deceleration command data: based on a value of the secondoperational information of the associated vehicle determined by thevehicle information logic, selectively communicate first safe statebraking control profile termination data representative of adeceleration termination command value for terminating deceleration ofthe associated vehicle to the output circuit as the deceleration commanddata, wherein the output circuit generates a null brake command signalcorresponding to the deceleration termination command value on theoutput circuit for use by the braking system of the associated vehicleto terminate the braking operation.
 14. The brake controller accordingto claim 13, wherein: the vehicle information logic is executable by theprocessor to determine a current level of XBR controlled braking as thefirst operational information of the associated vehicle; and the vehicleinformation logic is executable by the processor to determine as thesecond operational information of the associated vehicle one or more of:a reduction in speed of the associated vehicle relative to apredetermined speed reduction threshold; a speed of the associatedvehicle relative to a predetermined vehicle speed threshold; a driveroverride of the brake controller; a distance to an associated forwardvehicle forward of the associated vehicle relative to a predeterminedforward distance threshold; and/or a magnitude of relative velocitybetween the associated vehicle and the associated forward vehiclerelative to a predetermined relative velocity threshold.
 15. The brakecontroller according to claim 14, wherein: the brake control logic isexecutable by the processor to, responsive to the braking system faultlogic network interface device determining the fault condition in theassociated vehicle, determine the current level of XBR controlledbraking to be the first safe state braking control profile.
 16. Thecontroller according to claim 11, wherein: the first safe state brakingcontrol profile stored in the memory device of the brake control devicecomprises: a first set of deceleration data paired with execution timedata comprising: a first plurality of deceleration data representativeof a first plurality of deceleration values paired with a firstplurality of execution time increment data representative of a firstplurality of execution time increments; the brake control logic isexecutable by the processor to: responsive to the braking system faultlogic network interface device determining the fault condition in theassociated vehicle, selecting the first safe state braking controlprofile based on the first operational information of the associatedvehicle determined by the vehicle information logic, and communicate thefirst deceleration data of the first safe state braking control profilequeued in the memory device to the output circuit as the decelerationcommand data by communicating the first plurality of deceleration dataat the first plurality of execution time increments, wherein the outputcircuit generates the brake command signal corresponding to the firstplurality of deceleration values at the first plurality of executiontime increments on the output circuit for use by the braking system ofthe associated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation in accordancewith the first braking control profile.
 17. The brake controlleraccording to claim 16, wherein: the vehicle information logic isexecutable by the processor to determine a current level of XBR brakingas the first operational information of the associated vehicle; and thebrake control logic is executable by the processor to: responsive to thebraking system fault logic network interface device not determining thefault condition in the associated vehicle, communicate the first XBRdeceleration command data to the output circuit as the decelerationcommand data, wherein the output circuit generates the brake commandsignal corresponding to the first XBR deceleration command value on theoutput circuit for use by the braking system of the associated vehicleto effectuate the braking operation, or responsive to the braking systemfault logic network interface device determining the fault condition inthe associated vehicle, selecting the first safe state braking controlprofile based on the current level of XBR braking determined by thevehicle information logic, and communicate the first deceleration dataof the first safe state braking control profile queued in the memorydevice to the output circuit as the deceleration command data bycommunicating the first plurality of deceleration data at the firstplurality of execution time increments, wherein the output circuitgenerates the brake command signal corresponding to the first pluralityof deceleration values at the first plurality of execution timeincrements on the output circuit for use by the braking system of theassociated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation in accordancewith the first braking control profile.
 18. The brake controlleraccording to claim 16 wherein: the vehicle information logic isexecutable by the processor to determine one or more of a level of XBRcontrolled braking, a current speed of the vehicle, a distance to anassociated forward vehicle forward of the associated vehicle, ABS/WSShealth, a forward velocity relative to a vehicle forward to the vehicleof the brake controller, a current level of ABS activity, ADAS health,ESP activity as the first operational information of the associatedvehicle; and the brake control logic is executable by the processor to:responsive to the braking system fault logic network interface devicenot determining the fault condition in the associated vehicle,communicate the first XBR deceleration command data to the outputcircuit as the deceleration command data, wherein the output circuitgenerates the brake command signal corresponding to the first XBRdeceleration command value on the output circuit for use by the brakingsystem of the associated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation, orresponsive to the braking system fault logic network interface devicedetermining the fault condition in the associated vehicle, selecting thefirst safe state braking control profile based on the one or more of alevel of XBR controlled braking, a current speed of the vehicle, adistance to the forward vehicle, AB S/WSS health, a forward velocityrelative to a vehicle forward to the vehicle of the brake controller250, a current level of ABS activity, ADAS health, ESP activitydetermined by the vehicle information logic, and communicate the firstdeceleration data of the first safe state braking control profile queuedin the memory device to the output circuit as the deceleration commanddata by communicating the first plurality of deceleration data at thefirst plurality of execution time increments, wherein the output circuitgenerates the brake command signal corresponding to the first pluralityof deceleration values at the first plurality of execution timeincrements on the output circuit for use by the braking system of theassociated vehicle to effectuate the braking operation in accordancewith the first braking control profile.
 19. The brake controlleraccording to claim 16, wherein: the plurality of safe state brakingcontrol profiles stored in the memory device of the brake control devicecomprises: a second braking control profile comprising a second set ofdeceleration data paired with execution time data comprising: a secondplurality of deceleration data representative of a second plurality ofdeceleration values paired with a second plurality of execution timeincrement data representative of a second plurality of execution timeincrements; the vehicle information logic is executable by the processorto determine a current level of XBR braking as the first operationalinformation of the associated vehicle; and the brake control logic isexecutable by the processor to: responsive to the braking system faultlogic network interface device not determining the fault condition inthe associated vehicle, communicate the first XBR deceleration commanddata to the output circuit as the deceleration command data, wherein theoutput circuit generates the brake command signal corresponding to thefirst XBR deceleration command value on the output circuit for use bythe braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuate the brakingoperation, or responsive to the braking system fault logic networkinterface device determining the fault condition in the associatedvehicle: selecting the first safe state braking control profile based ona first current level of XBR braking determined by the vehicleinformation logic, and communicate the first deceleration data of thefirst safe state braking control profile queued in the memory device tothe output circuit as the deceleration command data by communicating thefirst plurality of deceleration data at the first plurality of executiontime increments, wherein the output circuit generates the brake commandsignal corresponding to the first plurality of deceleration values atthe first plurality of execution time increments on the output circuitfor use by the braking system of the associated vehicle to effectuatethe braking operation in accordance with the first braking controlprofile, or selecting the second safe state braking control profilebased on a second current level of XBR braking determined by the vehicleinformation logic, and communicate the second deceleration data of thesecond safe state braking control profile queued in the memory device tothe output circuit as the deceleration command data by communicating thesecond plurality of deceleration data at the second plurality ofexecution time increments, wherein the output circuit generates thebrake command signal corresponding to the second plurality ofdeceleration values at the second plurality of execution time incrementson the output circuit for use by the braking system of the associatedvehicle to effectuate the braking operation in accordance with thesecond braking control profile.